It seemed a real leap forward for women: In a unanimous opinion, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that materials "degrading" to women could be classified as obscene, and be banned. "If true equality between male and female persons is to be achieved," concluded the court, "we cannot ignore the threat to equality resulting from exposure . . . to certain types of violent and degrading material." That was in February, 1992, and across Canada, many women cheered.

Dr. Henry Morgentaler, 90, an abortion rights activist who helped overturn Canada's abortion law 25 years ago, died Wednesday at his Toronto home, according to Carolyn Egan, director and founding member of the Ontario Coalition of Abortion Clinics. The Polish-born Morgentaler emerged in 1967 as an advocate for a woman's right to have an abortion, at a time when attempting to induce one was a crime punishable by life in prison. Morgentaler later said his five-year stay in the Nazi concentration camps of Auschwitz and Dachau prepared him for his showdown with Canada's legal system, saying that in his mind, laws can be wrong.

Canadians who are terminally ill or suffering from certain chronic illnesses may grow and smoke their own marijuana under new rules that went into effect Monday. Despite protests from doctors, who argue that they will now be under pressure to prescribe a substance of unproven medical value, the Canadian government greatly expanded a program that previously limited medical marijuana to about 300 people nationwide.

A long-awaited decision by Canada's Supreme Court on Friday clarified what is and isn't child pornography, upholding a law that bans possession of child pornography but creating exceptions that child advocacy groups decried as "opening the doors to pedophiles." In resolving a yearlong challenge, the court tried to strike a balance between protecting children from sexual exploitation and preserving the freedom of thought, belief and expression.

In the face of overwhelming public opinion in favor of capital punishment, the Canadian Parliament on Tuesday rejected an effort to restore it. The vote, 148 to 127, came early in the morning and after three months of debate. It was the first time since 1976 that members of Parliament were allowed a free vote--to act according to their own interests rather than the dictates of party leaders. As the voting began, spokesmen on both sides had said they could not forecast the outcome.

A Bangladeshi mother gone to ground in a Montreal battered-women's shelter is fast becoming the latest test case in a growing Canadian debate over how to handle female asylum-seekers. The central question: Is the 1951 U.N. definition of a bona fide refugee flawed because it fails to recognize that women can be persecuted simply by virtue of their gender?

Canadians who are terminally ill or suffering from certain chronic illnesses may grow and smoke their own marijuana under new rules that went into effect Monday. Despite protests from doctors, who argue that they will now be under pressure to prescribe a substance of unproven medical value, the Canadian government greatly expanded a program that previously limited medical marijuana to about 300 people nationwide.

The Supreme Court unanimously upheld Canada's 1995 law requiring that gun owners be licensed and register firearms. The law, requiring licenses by year's end and registration of weapons by Jan. 1, 2003, has been criticized by the pro-gun lobby and some provincial governments as excessive and inefficient. The law was prompted by a gun-control campaign after a man shot and killed 14 people in Montreal in 1989.

The Canadian government announced an overhaul of 68 federal statutes to erase most legal differences between heterosexual and homosexual couples. The sweeping changes--affecting everything from citizenship to spousal tax credits and spousal benefits in government pensions--would extend benefits and obligations to homosexual couples on the same basis as common-law heterosexual couples.

A long-awaited decision by Canada's Supreme Court on Friday clarified what is and isn't child pornography, upholding a law that bans possession of child pornography but creating exceptions that child advocacy groups decried as "opening the doors to pedophiles." In resolving a yearlong challenge, the court tried to strike a balance between protecting children from sexual exploitation and preserving the freedom of thought, belief and expression.

The Supreme Court unanimously upheld Canada's 1995 law requiring that gun owners be licensed and register firearms. The law, requiring licenses by year's end and registration of weapons by Jan. 1, 2003, has been criticized by the pro-gun lobby and some provincial governments as excessive and inefficient. The law was prompted by a gun-control campaign after a man shot and killed 14 people in Montreal in 1989.

The Canadian government announced an overhaul of 68 federal statutes to erase most legal differences between heterosexual and homosexual couples. The sweeping changes--affecting everything from citizenship to spousal tax credits and spousal benefits in government pensions--would extend benefits and obligations to homosexual couples on the same basis as common-law heterosexual couples.

When home electronics dealer Mirek Matuszewski sells a satellite television system to a customer, he hands out a little legal advice to go with it. There's nothing wrong with owning one of the pizza-sized dishes in Canada, but the minute it starts receiving U.S. programming via satellite, the owner is in breach of Canadian law. There are as many as 300,000 such outlaws in Canada today, watching television beamed from such U.S.-operated services as DirecTV and Echostar.

The World Trade Organization ruled that legislation designed to shield Canada's magazine industry from competition by lower-cost U.S. publications violates international trade rules. The ruling by a WTO panel overturned the federal government's ban on split-run publications such as Time Warner Inc.'s Sports Illustrated, which in 1993 began publishing issues with U.S. editorial content and Canadian advertising. Under legislation passed in the 1960s, U.S.

Canada's health minister announced Monday that the government will seek to ban all tobacco advertising, following a recent Supreme Court ruling that stuck down a law sharply restricting tobacco ads. The minister, Diane Marleau, said details of her proposal will be worked out in early 1996 during consultations with provincial governments, the health community and tobacco manufacturers.

Canada's health minister announced Monday that the government will seek to ban all tobacco advertising, following a recent Supreme Court ruling that stuck down a law sharply restricting tobacco ads. The minister, Diane Marleau, said details of her proposal will be worked out in early 1996 during consultations with provincial governments, the health community and tobacco manufacturers.

After the Blue Jays postponed their Southern California tryout camps for possible replacement players last weekend because of heavy rains and flooding, one had to ask: Who could have expected a week in January in which the weather in Los Angeles would be worse than in Toronto? But that's the way things have been going for the Blue Jays. As major league baseball gropes its way into an uncertain future, the Blue Jays face more questions and obstacles than any other team.

Canada's law prohibiting virtually all tobacco advertising has been junked by this country's Supreme Court, and government regulators are contemplating new, less comprehensive restrictions. But the question persists: Did Canada's ad ban do much to curtail smoking? Opinion--and statistics--are divided on that issue, as well as on many other aspects of this nation's anti-smoking legislation, which has long been promoted as a model for other countries.

After the Blue Jays postponed their Southern California tryout camps for possible replacement players last weekend because of heavy rains and flooding, one had to ask: Who could have expected a week in January in which the weather in Los Angeles would be worse than in Toronto? But that's the way things have been going for the Blue Jays. As major league baseball gropes its way into an uncertain future, the Blue Jays face more questions and obstacles than any other team.